Automatic addressing machine



L. H. HANGEL.

AUTOMATIC ADDRESSING MACHlNE. APPLICATION FILED NOV.9, 1921.

1,411,350. 1 1 Pamnted 1 1141922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

PM 11 TTORAIEY.

5 INVENTOR. Lou 5 H. HA/VGL'L.

L. H. HANGEL.

AUTOMATIC ADDRESSING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV,9. 1921.

1,41 1,350. Patented Apia 4, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR. Lou/5H HANGL.

A TTORNE Y.

TENT oFi-"iice.

LOUIS H. HANGEL, 0F cmcneo, ILLINOIS.

AUTQMATIC ADDRESSING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 4, 1922.

Application filed November 9, 1921. serial No. 513,955.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that Louis H. HANGEL, a citizen of-the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, has invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Addressing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to addressing machines for selrctively feeding stacked stencil cards through the printing mechanisms thereof.

These addressing machines are commonly provided with electricallycontrolled driving means for the printing mechanism, the circuits being completed by selector fingers or pins which pass throu h pre-arranged holes or notches inthe stencil cards, whereby only certain desired stencil cards will print, the remainder of the stencil cards being permitted to pass through the printing mechanism without making impressions on the mail matter.

The invention herein set forth, involves means additional to the mechanisms of these known addressing machines for qualifying the operation of the selector pins in order to enhance the selectivity of the machine, and enable the operator to not only secure the printing of selected addresws, but to cause all addresses of a particular pre-determined group to be sequentially printed on a I certain date.

This, and other results, I have attained by the employment of secondary selector pins which are held back by imperforate or un-notched portions of the stencil cards which are to run idly through the printing mechanisms, and are so related to the primary or usual selector pins that these also are held back althou h one may be opposite a notch or perforation of the stencil card of the particular machine which is being operated, only one primary and one secondary selector pinbeing essential in a single machine. The stencil cards are notched before they are filed in the stack and when the time for mailing the selected mail matter arrives, all of the cards are fed into the addressing machine indiscriminately, the result being the addressing of onl such envelopes as are to contain the one osures in tended for mailing to certain of the addresses on a pre-determined day.

The inventlon will be better understood if reference is made to the accompanying drawing which forms part of this spec1fication, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view showing parts of the added improvements;

Figure 2 is a view showing parts in elevation; 4

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a view in elevation of the end of the usual inking means of an addressing machine, and also of the inking device for my improved machine;

F1gure 6 is a view of a stencil card adapted to co-operate with my improved machine;

Figures 7 and 8 are views showin fra ments of stencil cards which have di erent y arranged notches, and

' Figure 9 is a sectional View of a detail taken on the line 9-9 of Figure 1.

1 is the bed of the machine on which the operative parts are mounted, and upon this bed are secured grooved guide strips 2 for the stencil cards 3 which are each provided with a stencil 4 of usual character.

5 is a frame for receiving and removably holding a secondary stencil plate 6 which is provided with a stencil 7 for printing data on the blank spaces of the stencil cards 3. This frame includes folded or grooved side bars 8 for receiving and retaining the edges of a secondary stencil plate, and these side bars are united by an end bar 9 which is curved around and under the edge 10 of the proximate guide strip 2, the free ends 'll of the frame being sup orted'in a suitable man- .ner by the other guide strip.

The frame 5 is slightly spaced from the .bed of the machine to allow the stencil cards to pass beneath it as they are fed through the machine. These stencil cards are made sufliciently large to admit of the printin thereon of date concerning the mailing 0 letters to listed correspondents, the dates of original letters, the dates of follow up letters, and an identifying number assigned to letters in any particulargroup in which subjects are identical, so that on all of the stencil cards will appear information in printed form concerning the facts of the previous correspondence, enabling the operator to proceed intelligently and in accordance with the original plan.

12 is a selector bar attached to a bracket 13 which is in turn secured to a shaft 14 that is mounted to turn in an arm 15.

The selector bar has a series of holes, preferably four in number, which are designated by the reference characters 16, 17, 18 and 19, and through one of these holes extends a spring-pressed selector pin 20 for the purpose of making the electr1cal c1rcu1t complete and the printing mechanism operative in a usual manner. 21 is a spring for actuating the selector pin.

The selector bar is provided also with a plurality (as four) screw-threaded holes 22 corresponding in number with the ultimate subdivisions of the cards in the stack, and in one of these holes is mounted a secondary selector pin 23, the function of this pin being to hold back the selector bar and its primary selector pin to thereby prevent the com letion of the electrical circuit of the machlne, this being the result whenever the selector pin is set opposite an imperforate or unnotched portion of a stencil card, as w1ll be understood.

The stencil cards of the respectlve groups are provided with notches or holes 24, 2 5 and 26 for permitting the descent of the primary selector pin 25, and with other notches or holes 27, 27 and 27 for permitting the descent of the secondary selector pin 23, all as shown in Figures 6, 7 and 8.

When the machine is in operation with the primary and secondary selector pins set in pre-determined relative positions, those stencil cards having only non-coincident notches or holes will restrain one or the other of said selector pins and thus prevent the completion of the electrical circuit by the primary selector pin, and permit of printing of addresses by only such stencil cards as have notches or holes which coincide with both of said selector pins. The stencil cards preparatory to use in the machine, will be given such primary and secondary notches or holes as will accord with a pre-arranged addressing plan, so that the setting of the two pins in proper relative positions in the selector bar will cause the machine to automatically operate render certain of the stencil cards active and cause the remainder of said stencil cards to pass idly through the printing mechanism of themachine.

30 is the usual lever arm which carries the doctor 31. 32 is a yoke on the ends of which is mounted a V-shaped lever 34 carrying at its free ends an inking roll 36 for the secondar stencil plate 6. This inking roll has an a justable bearing 36. The main inking roll 37 is also mounted on the'yoke 32, this-bein the inking roll which is used in machines 0 the type to which my invention is applied. The lever 34 is retracted by the spring 28.

The thrust of the secondary inking roll ,sec

36 is produced by a screw 38 which bears against one of the ends 35 of the U-shaped lever 34, said screw being mounted in a sustaining block 40 which is part of the bracket 41. The bracket has a slot 42 through whlch a sustaining screw extends. The screw 38 may be manipulated to allow the secondary inking roll to remain idle, or to vary the degree of pressure on the secondary stencil cards, as desired.

The action of the secondary stencil cards is automatic provided the screw 36 has been properly adjusted, the two inking rolls 36, 37 being moved in unison by their actuatlng devices.

The selector pins are in plain sight of the operator and constitute visual indications of the selective action of the machine.

When the machine is in operation, the primary selector will pass through primary notches of such stencil cards as are in coincidence therewith when the cards are in printing position, thereby establishing the electrical circuit of the machine. The secondary selector will at the same time descend through the secondary notches of the same cards, provided said cards have aligned notches, but as to those cards which do not possess notches arranged to coincide with the selector pins as set, the printing mechanism will be inactive.

The subject matter of this application is not claimed in my co-pending application #449,116, filed March 2, 1921.

Having thus described 7 my invention, what I claim is:

1. The combination with an addressing machine having means for selectively a plying addresses to mail matter, of ad itional means for qualifying the selectivity of said means.

2. The combination with an addressing machine having a selector pin for controlling the printing mechanism of said machine, of a secondary selector pin for qualifying the selective action of said selector pin.

3. The combination with an addressing machine having a plurality of groups of adjustable selector pins, of stencil cards having notches corresponding in position with predetermined positions of said selector pins in said groups.

4. A set of stencil cards having each -'groups of notches or holes, for receiving prlmary and secondary selector pins of an addressin machine, said notches or holes being diligarently spaced in different groups of the set to eii'ectuate printing by redetermined stencil plates only when al the cards of the set are run through an addressing machine.

5. An addressing machine having in combination a printing mechanism, a springpressed selector pin for controlling said printing mechanism, and a secondary selector pin for selectively determining the action of said first-named pin.

6. An addressing machine including primary and secondary selector pins for deter-- mining general and specific dates for the addressing of mail matter, said pins being relatively adjustable to enable the machine to sequentially address pieces of mail matter while omitting the printing of other pieces of mail matter. 4

7. An addressing machine having in combination a printing mechanism, a stencil guide, an electric circuit controlling a clutch for the printing mechanism, a selector bar, a selector pin movable with'said bar, and another selector pin movable with and relatively to said bar and controlling said electric circuit.

8. The combination with an addressing machine having electrically-controlled means for selectively appl ing addresses to mail matter, of means ad ltional to said machine for gualifying the selectivity of said electriea ly-controlled means.

9. The combination with an addressing machine having electrically-controlled means for selectively applying addresses to mail matter, of non-electrical means for qualifying the selective action of said electrically-controlled means.

10. A selector bar for an addressing machine having a group of electrically-acting selector pins, and a further group of nonelectrical pins for qualifyin the selectivity of said electrically-acting se ector pins.

11. The combination with an addressing machine having a printing mechanism controlled by an electric circuit, and circuitmaking fingers'arranged to co-operate with successively-fed stencil cards bearing various addresses, of other fingers also co-operating with said stencil cards and mechanically controlling said circuit-makin fin ers.

LOUIS H. AN EL. 

